Limestone
shabti of a
priestess

Probably from Thebes,
Egypt18th Dynasty, around 1375
BC

Help in the Afterlife

This fine limestone
shabti shows the tomb
owner in a
mummified
form. It also shows the main elements by which
shabti figures can be
identified. Her heavy formal wig, facial features and other details
are picked out in black and red
paint.

Her hands are
crossed over her chest, and hold a pair of hoes.
Shabti figures may hold
these or other agricultural tools, such as adzes, picks or water
pots. These implements show that they were ready to perform, on
behalf of the tomb owner, the agricultural labour which he or she
was expected to undertake in the Afterlife. This interpretation of
the nature of the Egyptian afterlife became current in the New
Kingdom (about 1550-1070 BC). The earliest
shabti, found in tombs
of the Middle Kingdom (about 2040-1750 BC) seem to have been one of
a number of substitutes for the body of the
owner.

The lower body is
inscribed, here in incised characters, with Spell 6 of the
Book
of the Dead. This spell
is known as the shabti
formula, which activated the figure. The spell instructs the
figure: 'O
shabti, if the deceased
is called upon to do any of the work required there in the
necropolis at any time.... you shall say "Here I am, I will do
it".'

J.H. Taylor, Death and Afterlife in ancient (London, The British Museum Press, 2001)